ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

MUSIC

The Italian Palazzo Where Broken Voices And Vocal Techniques Get Repaired

Marianna Brilla and Lisa Paglin spent years in Italy studying old vocal treatises and historical recordings to find the roots of bel canto technique. Now they run the New Voice Studio, where they combat the opera world’s obsession with power and volume, teaching instead “spontaneity, beauty, and freedom.” - El País (Spain) (in English)

San Francisco Symphony Musicians’ New Contract Hits The $200K Mark

The agreement, retroactive to Nov. 24, 2024 and ending on Nov. 20, 2027,  maintains the starting weekly base salary of $3,450, with biannual increases which rise to $3,960 (making an annual minimum salary of $205,920) in the last six months of the contract. - Riff Magazine (San Francisco)

Five Countries Say They’ll Boycott Eurovision Contest If Israel Is Allowed To Compete

Israel’s recent participation has been a divisive issue in Europe and its broadcasting community ever since Israel began its military campaign in Gaza Strip in late 2023. - Deadline

Des Moines Metro Opera Under Fire For Working Conditions

It sounds like boot camp. An 89.5 hour workweek. Back to back 14 hour days. Overtime pay a rarity (and lack thereof legally sanctioned). Working in a warehouse where temperatures exceeded 100. Bullying. - Broadway World

The Temple Of Arvo Pärt

The whole place exudes the ethos of Pärt, whose music demands love and dedication from its interpreters yet almost nothing of its listeners, offering a timeless sound redolent of both the Renaissance and modern Minimalism, and capable of touching casual audiences and avant-gardists alike. - The New York Times

New DNA Cassettes Can, Apparently, Store Every Song Ever Recorded

Sadly, “if you put one of the new tapes into an old-fashioned Walkman, it won’t produce any meaningful sound, because the DNA cassette doesn’t use the magnetic signals of its predecessor.” - New Scientist (Archive Today)

The 66-Year-Old Retired Accountant Who Just Joined LSU’s Marching Band

Apparently, it’s never too late to live your musical dreams. - NPR

What Jane Austen Had On Her Playlist

“In the last decade, after academics at the University of Southampton in England digitized the sheet music collection of Austen and her family, more and more people are turning to the music for new perspectives on her life and work.” - The New York Times

How Poptimism Ate Itself

“The truth is that the vulgar poptimist ideal of letting people like what they like is also the preferred state of affairs for capitalism — cultural value collapses into market value, so that the amount of money something makes is the only necessary judgment of its worth.” - Jude Doyle

Erik Satie, Inventor Of Modern Music

“Despite music in general having long since assimilated the daring qualities of Gymnopédie No. 1, the original piece still catches our ears — in its subtle way — whenever it comes on.” - Open Culture

Belgian Music Festival Cancels Performance Because Munich Phil’s Conductor Also Helms Israeli Phil

“'In light of role as the chief conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, we are unable to provide sufficient clarity about his attitude to the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv,' organizers said in a statement.” - CBC

Arvo Pärt, Aged 90, Has Ended His Composing Career

The confirmation is tucked into a profile of the wildly popular composer, who has been in poor health and is reportedly developing dementia. - The New York Times

How Arvo Pärt’s Tintinnabuli Style Works

A music scholar explains how the artistic formula — famously described by the composer’s wife, Nora, as “1+1=1” — gets translated into the notes in a score. - The Conversation

Steve Schick: How Music Ought To Work On Us

While the presence of listeners seems axiomatic at every stage of music history, it has become indispensable now. Fostering dialogue, spoken or unspoken, within a community of listeners creates an environment of reciprocal wisdom and can serve as the basis of real interaction. We often feel the fundamental skill of a musician is expression. - ArtsHub

A New Festival Exploring AI In Opera

Planned for its first edition, set to run from June 4 to 7 next year, is a symposium exploring A.I. and opera-making, followed by performances, technology demonstrations, and conversations that showcase how artists and producers interact with A.I. and what kinds of creations audiences can expect as a result. - The New York Times

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